Caught on the Bink's Spoon. I am glad to see these making a comeback. They are not for me but a lot of people like to catch them.
The lake level is 557.57 and has dropped 2-1/2 inches in the last 24-hours with both generators running abour 1/2 the time starting about midnight. They White River at Newport is 11.62 feet and they are regulating to about 12-feet to keep the area lakes up as high as possible for as long as possible. The lake surface water temperature is 87-degrees but should dropp with the upcoming rain and lower ambient temperature. Yesterday was the last hot day for a while. We could get up to two inches of rain the next two days and it is needed. It has been a long, hot, dry summer until some recent rain. The lake is in good condition for boating, swimming, fishing and diving. The water is clear down to 27-feet and then cloudy to 32-feet and then clears up again in the cold water past that. The creeks are still stained but have cleared a bit the last couple of days. Blackburns brush piles are coming into play now and there are Kentucky Bass, Smallmouth Bass and Bluegill all over them feeding on the bait fish that have just moved in. Drop a spoon or a Bobby Garland jig down in the brush and catch some nice fat Kentucky Bass. They are one of the best eating fish. Channel Cats have moved back into the creeks in brush and off docks and will bite about anything. Nightcrawlers and bluegill on the bottom are best. Bink is still catching Walleye and White Bass on main lake points in 35-ft. of water. Lots of fish are under docks in the shade. I am not seeing very many crappie on brush yet but it will be soon. Fishing has changed with different species in open water on shad with the absence of the large stripers. Schools of small shad are back in the creeks and are being chased by about everything in the evenings. There are too many gar. The oxygen level is good down to 30-ft. and is very low at 40-ft. No sense fishing any deeper than 35-ft. unless you are fishing the oxygen bubble near the dam in 90-120 ft. of water. Every fish you catch there dies. Stripers are comfortable in 60-70 degree water with an Oxygen level of 5-6 parts per million. That is hard to find now. I sure hope we do not have a big striper kill this year and the conditions do not look favorable for one and most of the big ones are gone anyway and people are killing way too many small ones and bragging about it.
